STOP AND SEARCH

People from the ethnic minorities are far more likely to be stopped and searched than whites, according to the latest police figures for Derbyshire. A report to Derbyshire Police Authority gives figures for the number of people who have been stopped, according to their ethnicity, during the 2002/03 financial year. It reveals that during this period 7,569 of the country's 917,653 white population have been stopped, amounting to 8.2 searches per 1,000 population. During the same period 944 people from ethnic minorities were stopped and searched, out of a population of 38,640. This means there were 24.43 searches per 1,000 population. Ethnic minorities are people who are black, Asian, unknown and other, based on new census classifications.

The figures are up slightly on last year, where there were 7.48 white people searched per thousand and 21.35 per thousand ethnic minorities searched.
Chief Constable David Coleman told a police authority meeting that individual officers were monitored to ensure they were stopping people for the right reasons and without being discriminatory. He added, "The vast majority of stop-search activity is conducted in inner city areas where there is more poverty and the majority of the population is made up of ethnic minorities. That's not saying in any way that ethnic minorities are disproportionately responsible for crime but it is the case that a lot of crime takes place in those areas." Police say 79% of the force's searched on ethnic minorities took place in it's D division, which covers Derby and South Derbyshire. This is compared to 78% of the country's ethnic minority population living in this area.

From the searches during this financial year, of the 7,569 white people searched, 1,093 were arrested, equating to 14.4% rate. The rate for ethnic minority was 177 out of 944 were arrested, which is 18.8%. Gulnaz Nawaz who is of Asian origin and lives in Normanton Road, said, "I think the police should be fairer and more equal when they're choosing who to stop. Why should they stop Asian and black people just because they're living in the city?" Lloyd Newby of Stenson Avenue, Derby, who is deputy leader of the city's West Indian Association, said, "It's a known problem and I'm not 100% sure why Afro-Carribeans are being stopped. I'd urge people who feel they're being harassed to ask the reason they're being stopped and take the officer's badge number."

Muslim leaders accused police of racism after figures showed searches of Asians have more than trebled since 9/11. There were 744 Asians stopped and searched in 2001 under the new Terrorism Act. But in the 2002 the number shot up to 2,989. Eight out of ten searches were by the Met and City of London police.

The number of whites and blacks stopped rose less dramatically, yet the Home Office report, Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System, revealed just 13% of searches resulted in an arrest. The figures have led worried ministers to announce a new team to advise police on use of stop-and-search powers.

Massoud Shadjareh, spokesman for the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said, "We are quite appalled. This proves there is a lot of Islamophobia when dealing with terrorism.The very people security forces should rely on helping them fight terror are being alienated ."

Abdal Ullah, a Muslim member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said, "Muslims are a scapegoat. The young will be alienated." And Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council, said fear about Islamic terrorism were no excuse. He added, "Terrorism is a concern to all of us. But it doesn't mean that whenever you see young people or people that may be Muslims they can be simply stopped and questioned."

But Glen Smyth, chair of the Met Police Federation representing rank and file London officers, said the figures were a natural result of the security situation. Announcing the new unit, Home Office minister Hazel Blears insisted, "I am very concerned about the undermining of confidence in the criminal justice system by stop and search. It has to be intelligence-led and can't just be to harass people."

But the report also showed most of the 869,164 stop and searches in 2002 were crime, not terror, related. The most common reason to stop blacks and Asians was to search for drugs. (Source: Daily Mirror)